


What You Need

by psychicdreamsandangelwings



Series: As the Story Goes [2]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Also Maybe Some Hurt/Comfort, And Some Bonding, Angst, Bad Parent Maryse Lightwood, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kidnapping, Lots of Angst Though, M/M, My Law and Medical Knowledge is Basically Non-Existent, Past Abuse, Protective Alec Lightwood, Protective Magnus, so there's that, there might be some fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-19
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2018-09-09 19:22:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8908969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psychicdreamsandangelwings/pseuds/psychicdreamsandangelwings
Summary: When Maryse lashes out at Max in the worst way possible resulting in an ER trip, Alec and Magnus react quickly. Infuriated, they plan on demanding official custody be given to the two of them. If Maryse isn't willing to hand it over, they know they'll be able to win any battle against her. But when an unexpected incident occurs everyone is shaken to their core. This is a sequel to the first fic in this series, What You Deserve, and you should probably read that first for everything to make sense.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this happened a lot faster than I was actually planning on. I got an idea that I couldn't get out of my head and my muse just ran with it. This is either going to be a long, angsty fic (with a happy ending because it's me), or it's going to be a rather short, slightly angsty fic (with a happy ending because it's me). More details about that at the end of the chapter.

Magnus is talking to a group of prospective clients, drink in hand and looking as flawless as ever, when Maryse makes an appearance in her usual manner. He figured he’d run into her at some point, they usually ended up at the same events whenever she was in town, but he wasn’t planning on her intentionally seeking him out. She isn’t a fan of him, Magnus doesn’t think she ever will be, not even enough to casually mingle at an event they both ended up at.

“What are you doing here?” Maryse all but snarls, coming up to stand next to Magnus. Max is with her, standing hesitantly by her side, and Magnus can’t help but smile at him. He was hoping Maryse wouldn’t have dragged Max along with her, but he knows her well enough to know better. She doesn’t care about what Max wants, she never really has, and that would always be a problem between them.

“Well,” Magnus says, trying not to let the anger show in his eyes. He didn’t need Maryse questioning his credibility in front of potential clients, he already got enough shit because he was a bisexual immigrant who loved makeup. “Maryse, whether you’d like to admit it, most people consider me a rather respectable individual. I have just as much right, maybe even more since I helped fund this even, to be here as you do.”

The small group of men and women he’s talking to chuckle at that and he assumes he’s saved enough face to know he’s still in their good graces. “We’re going to go catch a table,” Marissa says, pointing towards a table nearby, “join us when you’re done here.”

Magnus nods and he and Maryse watch them go for a few seconds before Maryse starts talking again. “Is Alec here?” Maryse asks, suspiciously changing the subject.

“No,” Magnus says, frowning, a little confused. Alec hardly ever accompanies him to things like this, it just wasn’t his scene, and Maryse has never once asked Magnus about Alec. “He couldn’t make it tonight, but why does that matter to you?”

“No reason,” Maryse says quickly, gazing around, and that puts him a little on edge. She was clearly anticipating something, something she knew Magnus wasn’t going to be happy about, and that made him nervous. “Just stay-”

Before Maryse can say anything else a newcomer appears, catching Magnus’ attention almost immediately. He recognizes that face, he doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to forget it, and a sense of rage pools quickly in the pit of his stomach.

“Hey, I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Oh wow,” Shawn says, bending down in front of Max. He smiles, looking directly at him, and Magnus sees red. “Hey Maxi, it’s been forever since I’ve seen you. Do you remember me? You were just a little guy the last time I saw you. How’ve you been?”

Magnus feels a protective urge a mile wide come over him and he has to physically hold himself back before he does anything he knows he’ll end up regretting. Max looks scared, really scared, and Magnus isn’t going to have any of that. He isn’t sure if he remembers the man that had beaten his brother for years, he was only four when they had broken up, but he clearly doesn’t like being around him.

Max shakes his head quickly and takes a step closer to Magnus, grabbing hold of his hand as tight as he can. The look on Maryse’s face is cold enough to freeze hell and Magnus can’t help but feel a little bit of pride. Max had chosen him as his form of comfort over his own mother. That would seriously piss Maryse off and Magnus can’t help but love it.

Suddenly, it all makes sense. Maryse doesn’t want Magnus to know she planned on meeting Shawn and she doesn’t want Alec here to see it firsthand. That’s why she had made her way over once she realized Magnus was here, she didn’t want him to see what was about to happen.

“What are you doing here?” Magnus asks, doing everything he possibly can to keep himself from blowing up. The last thing he wants to do was make a scene, not with Max right next to him.

“I recognize you,” Shawn says, smiling a wide, fake, smile. Magnus wants to slap it off his face. “You were with Alec at that restaurant, weren’t you?” He looks over at Max and seems to choose his next words carefully. At least he’s going to watch his words around Max, that’s all Magnus can really hope for at this point because it’s going to get ugly.

“They’ve got the best food, sometimes I can’t help but go for seconds. Tell me Magnus, do you enjoy seconds? They can get kind of sloppy though.” Shawn scrunches up his nose and shakes his head, disgusted look passing over his face. “They’re not always fun to eat the second time around.”

The rage Magnus has kept safely under control festers up again and threatens to spill out. He’s not an idiot, he knows what Shawn means with that euphemism, but he doesn’t want to make a scene. That doesn’t mean he’s going to let the asshole blatantly disrespect Alec.

“Well, they’re usually more appreciated the second time around,” Magnus says, gaze cold. “The firsts are hardly ever worth a damn.”

“That’s enough,” Maryse says, looking between both of them. Max can sense the tension that is rising between Magnus and Shawn and he takes a slight step backwards, hiding behind Magnus slightly. Maryse watches Max move and from the look on her face, Magnus can tell she’s still not happy. Somehow, that makes Magnus feel a little bit better about the situation.

“I’m doing some business with Shawn,” Maryse says, as if that small statement makes up for the fact that she’s talking about the man who almost ruined Alec. “This is the only free time I have to meet with him, I didn’t expect to see you here. I’m just glad Alec isn’t here; I don’t want him dredging up old drama.”

“Old drama, huh? Is that what we’re calling abuse these days?” Magnus bursts out, unable to hold his tongue.

“Magnus,” Maryse chides, shaking her head. “This isn’t the time nor the place for this. I’m not going to be in New York for very long and I have a lot of stuff to discuss with Shawn. I don’t appreciate how things ended in the past, Shawn has assured me he’s sorry for what happened to Alec, but business is business and I’m willing to let bygones be bygones.”

Magnus can’t believe what he’s hearing. If anything, the way Shawn had subtly insulted Alec earlier is enough to prove that he’s not sorry about anything. Not to mention the fact that Maryse wasn’t the one that Shawn hurt. She doesn’t get an input on this situation, she doesn’t get to let ‘bygones be bygones.’ That’s for no one but Alec to decide.

“And you decided to bring Max to this meet up?” Magnus says, looking Maryse straight on. He decides not to comment on anything, that would just make the situation worse and Magnus isn’t in the mood to fight with Maryse. Magnus has never liked the woman, he doesn’t think he ever will, but he respects Alec and his siblings enough not to trash her in front of them. Even if Maryse never shows him the same curtesy.

Maryse ignores him, as usual, and turns to Shawn with a well place smile. “I’ve already got us a table, but we better get back to it before it gets taken. Come on Max.”

Maryse turns with Shawn, expecting Max to follow her, and heads towards a table on the other side of the room. Only, Max doesn’t budge from his spot next to Magnus. Maryse turns around after a few seconds, checking to see if Max is following her, and frowns once she realizes he hasn’t moved.

“Maxwell,” Maryse hissed, “I know you heard me.”

Magnus frowns, not liking her tone. Over the months that Max has lived with Alec and him, Magnus has grown very fond of the youngest lightwood. He loves him a lot, he’s grown very protective of him, and he doesn’t like the way Maryse just talked to him.

“I want to stay with Magnus,” Max says, avoiding looking at his mother. He stays half hidden behind Magnus, gaze trained down at the ground in front of him, and all but ignores his mother.  

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Maryse dismisses his claim, coming back to stand in front of Magnus and Max. She grabs Max’s hand and pulls him towards her, managing to shake Max’s balance enough to almost make him fall.

The unexpected movement jerks Max forward, forcing him to let go of Magnus’ hand. Though Max doesn’t show it, he’s always been good at concealing things, he can tell that the sudden movement had hurt his arm. Magnus knows Maryse loves her son, probably more than she loves anything, and he’s never doubted that. But she doesn’t always have Max’s best interest at heart and she doesn’t always take his comfort in to account. That is the biggest problem Magnus had with Maryse. Sometimes she cared more about what she needed than what her own son needed, and that didn’t fly with Magnus.

“Stop,” Magnus says, voice unwavering, quickly intervening. He tries not to come between Maryse and Max, he and Alec both do, but Max is clearly scared and doesn’t want to go sit at a table with Shawn. Magnus isn’t going to let Maryse force Max to go with her, no matter how much Maryse will hate him because of it.

“What,” Maryse says to Magnus, clenching her teeth tightly, “did you just say to me?”

“Stop,” Magnus says once again, this time a tad more forceful. “Max doesn’t want to sit with you, he’s going to come sit with me. You can still take him home with you when you leave, he’s only going to sit with me through dinner.”

Maryse clearly isn’t a fan of this plan, if the look on her face is anything to go by. If she were a cartoon character, steam would be billowing out of her ears in droves. But, more than anything, she doesn’t want to make a scene. Maryse’s need to look good will always outweigh her need to debate her point, a fact that has always worked in Magnus’ favor. It doesn’t matter how much she hates Magnus right now; she’s not going to say a thing to him about it.

“You’re really going to choose Magnus Bane over me?” Maryse asks, in a way that suggests the idea is the greatest insult Max could ever give her. As if Max telling his mother he didn’t want to sit with the man who had beat the shit out of Alec for two years was a personal attack against her.

Max stays silent, rooted in place once again next to Magnus. He had hesitantly reached up to grab Magnus’ hand, as if he’d be reprimanded for seeking that slight bit of comfort, right after Maryse had pulled him forward and almost made him fall. Now, his grip was as tight as ever.

When Max doesn’t say anything, Maryse gets her answer and she doesn’t like what she hears. “Well then,” she says, turning around and stalking off without another word.

“Who was that man?” Max asks once she’s gone. “I don’t remember much but I think he hurt Alec.”

Magnus sighs heavily and leads Max towards a table, his hand still clutched loosely in Max’s. He was only four when Alec dated Shawn, it’s not surprising he doesn’t remember much. “He did,” Magnus says sadly. He’s not going to go in to details about what had happened, he knows for sure that’s not something that Alec wants, but he’s not going to lie to the kid. “Pretty bad, actually. It was a while ago; you were just a little kid when it happened. He’s not a very nice man.”

“Why is Mommy talking to him then, if he hurt Alec?” Max asks and Magnus is so not prepared to answer that question.

“Your Mom just has some business to do,” Magnus says. He’s not about to trash talk Maryse, not to Max, even if that means he can’t tell Max what he really wants to. “It’s okay though, you don’t have to be around him if you don’t want to.”

“She always has business to do,” Max says, a little dejectedly, and stares at the ground as he follows beside Magnus. He doesn’t know what to say to that, everything in his head seems wrong, so he just sighs heavily and keeps his mouth shut.

It’s at that moment they reach their table and Max doesn’t say anything else. Magnus has always hated it when Maryse brings Max to functions like these, they just aren’t intended for children, and now he’s got to be the one to try and entertain a nine-year-old at a boring gala he shouldn’t even be at. Magnus doesn’t even bring Alec to all of these functions, even he gets bored and annoyed while attending them, and he wouldn’t ever think of taking Max to one.

Maryse is only in New York every once and a while so she tries to balance spending time with Max and getting all her business done. Meaning, half the time she forces Max to attend boring events he has no business being at because she can’t give up her work to spend  _real_  time with her son. It drove Alec and Magnus both crazy, but they figured at least she was spending some time with him.

Thankfully, everyone else at his table seems to be okay with the sudden inclusion of Max. They had already talked a lot about business while they were mingling earlier, Magnus is pretty sure he’s all but officially sealed the deal. They seem to be content with keeping the conversation away from business because of Max; Magnus is grateful for that.

* * *

The ride home is silent, not a word is spoken between Max and his mother, and it kind of scared Max. He wishes his dad were here, he always knew how to mediate between the two of them. But he’s been spending less and less time with his mom, meaning he’s spending even less time with Max, and that’s starting to worry him for an entirely different reason.

Maryse doesn’t say anything, instead choosing to scroll through her phone, and Max can’t find any words to break through the terrifying silence. Instead he plays with his own cell phone, an expensive smart phone his mom had gotten for him when she failed to show up to his birthday party, and tries not to look over at his mom.

The stiff silence is broken by his mom’s driver pulling up in front of Maryse’ house and the two of them get out of the car. Max jumps as his mom slams the door, making him incredibly nervous, and slowly follows her inside. It’s then, behind the privacy of their own home, that his mom really lets her anger show. She’s always had a problem with yelling, she’s never really known how to talk to her own children without screaming, and Max isn’t surprised in the slightest.

“Really, Max?” she asks, turning to him with a look of disappointment on her face. “Do you know how embarrassing that was for me? I had friends, business partners, acquaintances at that party. They saw my son sitting with someone else and kept asking me what was going on, especially because you were sitting with  _him_  of all people.”

“Magnus is nice,” Max says, “I don’t know why you hate him so much. He’s Alec’s fiancée and he loves him a lot.”

“Nice?” Maryse says, frowning hard. “Why are you so naive? Magnus is a trainwreck, I will never approve of him. Alec could do better than him and the fact that you chose him over me is unacceptable.”

“I just didn’t want to sit with that man,” Max says, trying to justify his actions. “I don’t like him; he… scares me.”

“Scared? Really, Max?” Maryse sighs, shaking her head. “I’m assuming your brother has been clouding your thoughts with misinformation again. There’s nothing wrong with Shawn, he does have a history with Alec but that was five years ago. He needs to move on.”

Max feels tears start to well up in his eyes. He knows his mom is angry, she doesn’t like it when he cries, but once he starts it’s hard for him to stop. “I’m sorry.”

“Are you seriously about to cry?” Maryse says, scoffing. “Good Lord, Max, are you ever going to grow up? You can’t cry over everything, you seriously need to toughen up and stop acting like a baby. I raised you better than that.”

“I want to go home!” Max screams, throat closing up as tears threaten to fall. “I want to go home, now.”

“Home?” Maryse says, body dangerously still. “Your home is here, not with Alec and Magnus.”

Max tries to stop himself from crying but he can’t. The tears keep coming and he feels like he’s going to have a panic attack. “I just want Alec and Magnus,” Max says, half way to hyperventilating, and his hands come up to try to stop the sounds he’s making. “I want to go home.”

“I didn’t do anything, Max," Maryse says, frowning. Max doesn't like the way she's talking to him right now. "I don’t know why you’re crying.”

“I just want to go home,” Max begs, trying to keep the sounds he’s making to a minimum. His mom doesn’t know how to handle him like this, she’s not calming and caring and nice like Magnus and Alec are, and he just wants them. They know what to do when he gets like this, Max just wants them. "Please, I don't want to be here anymore."

“Why you,” Maryse says, rage in her eyes, as she takes a few steps closer. She reaches up and slaps Max across the face.

His mom hits him hard enough to knock him off balance and Max lands hard on his wrist. He scrambles away from her quickly, suddenly terrified. His mom has never hit him before and he doesn’t know how to react. His face stings and his wrist throbs as he scrambles away from her, tears slowly falling down his face.

“Oh my God,” Maryse says, hands coming up to cover her face. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean that. Max, that was an accident. You know I would never hurt you intentionally. Please, you have to understand and you can’t tell Alec. He won’t get it.”

Max doesn’t listen to her. Instead he runs up the stairs, quickly pulling out his phone and dialing a familiar number before he slams his bedroom door shut.

* * *

Alec doesn’t bother knocking when he gets to his mother’s house. Instead, he barges right in with Magnus close behind him. Maryse is in the foyer, sitting in a chair angled in the corner next to the winding staircase. To her credit, she does incredibly guilty. Maryse has done a lot of things she should be ashamed of but Alec has never seen her like this before.

The thing is, though, he doesn’t care. Putting her hands on Max will never fly with him, he doesn’t care what her excuses are, and he’s going to be damn sure she knows that.

“We just got inside Max, it’s okay to come down now,” Magnus says, stopping in the doorway, as he hangs up the phone. He doesn’t say anything else but his gaze is focused on Maryse and Alec can tell he’s thrumming with hatred.

The three of them are quiet as they here footsteps rush down the hall. Soon enough Max is joining them, refusing to look at Maryse who’s now standing. “I’m so sorry, Max,” Maryse says, wringing her hands. She generally looks really sorry. Alec still doesn’t care.

Max doesn’t say anything. He stands between Alec and Magnus, staring down at the ground. “Hey,” Alec says with a soft smile as he turns to face Max. “Why don’t you go wait in the car with Magnus, I’ll be right out.”

“Okay,” Max says, throwing a hesitant look over his shoulder at Maryse, before he takes Magnus’ hand and the two of them head to the car.

Alec waits before he’s sure Max can no longer hear him before he speaks again. “What the fuck were you thinking?” he says, voice almost as loud as a scream.

“It was an accident, you have to believe me,” Maryse says, taking a few steps towards Alec. “I didn’t mean to hit him. I just got so angry and I couldn’t help myself.”

“That’s not an excuse,” Alec says, gritting his teeth. “You don’t get to say sorry, that it was an accident, and then expect everything to be okay. Max is a child,  _your child_ , you don’t get to touch him like that. You don’t get to touch  _anyone_  like that.”

“Alec, please,” Maryse pleads, looking disheveled. “I couldn’t help it; it was an accident. Okay? I didn’t mean it.”

“I don’t understand why you think that makes this okay,” Alec says. “Are you fucking insane? You just told me you couldn’t help yourself, how am I supposed to take that? You apparently don’t have enough control over yourself if you can’t stop yourself from hitting your son.”

“This is the reason why I didn’t want Max to call you,” Maryse says, sighing heavily. “I knew you would react like this.”

“You wanted to keep this hidden from me?” Alec says, angrier than he was before. “You wanted Max to lie to me, about something like this? He called me crying on the phone, terrified, and literally  _begged_  me to come and get him. Magnus couldn’t get off the phone with him the entire ride over hear because he was having the worst panic attack he’s ever had. I’ve never seen him that scared in my life. How did you expect me to react?”

“I barely touched him!” Maryse says, throwing her hands out at her sides. “I regretted it immediately after it happened. I just got so angry, okay? Frist he chose Magnus over me, then he said he wanted to go home. I shouldn’t have done it but this is home, I will _always_ be his home, and Magnus is not his parent. Max needs to understand that.”

“Are you seriously trying to justify hitting him right now?” Alec asks, starting to pace. “Why the fuck would you think that would be okay with me?”

Maryse sighs and takes a deep breath, trying to get a hold of herself. “I don’t want to justify it; I’m just trying to explain. I didn’t mean to do it and I get why you’re pissed at me but you have to understand. I would never do anything to hurt him, you know that. I love my son.”

“You just hurt him,” Alec says, unable to believe what he’s hearing right now. “You hurt him bad and you don’t seem to care that much about it.”

“Of course, I care!” Maryse says, sounding shocked. “I’m his mother, I love him. Accidents happen, I would never intentionally hurt him.”

“The fact that you didn’t mean to hurt him means nothing to me,” Alec says, shaking his head. “That doesn’t excuse the fact that you lost control and hurt Max. You’re lucky I don’t try to sue you for custody of him because I am seriously so close to doing it you have no idea.”

Maryse actually has the audacity to laugh and that does nothing but piss Alec off even more. “Alec, please. You know you’d never win. I’m his mother, I’ve got the money and the influence to take you down.”

“Oh really?” Alec says, clenching his fists. “Wanna try me? Magnus has more money than you do and just as much influence. You don’t want to take us on, you will lose. I do everything for Max, everything. I go to his parent/teacher conferences; I take him to the doctor; I handle his anxiety and therapy sessions; I make sure he is safe and happy and that he gets his homework done on time.

“I’m the one he goes to when he has problems,” Alec continues, “because I’m the one who’s actually there. I spend time with him, I provide for him, I’m the one taking care of him every fucking day. I don’t expect anything out of it, I do it because I love my brother and I can give him a better life than you can right now. You see him once a month, usually less, and you tend to bail on of your skype calls with Max. I know much more about your kid and I know that kills you inside.”

Alec is breathing heavily by the end of his mini rant, so worked up he could barely even stand it. The room soon descends into silence and a look crosses over his mother’s face he’s never seen before. It’s a look of shame and deep sorrow. He always guessed this arrangement and the fact that Alec does more for Max than Maryse has ever done gets to her, but he’s never seen that sentiment so clear on her face before.

Still, it doesn’t matter to him and he’s not going to pity her no matter what. It’s her own damn fault and Alec’s not going to let her make him feel bad for taking care of his brother the way that he needs to. He’s needed to get that off of his chest for a long time now and it feels so good to finally say it. It’s just been sitting there, weighing him down, and Alec just couldn’t take it anymore.

“I hit him  _once_ ,” Maryse says slowly, almost pleading with him. “It was an accident, I never meant to hit him. Obviously I’d never hit him with the intention of actually hurting him and it’s never going to happen again.”

“No,” Alec says, shaking his head. “You don’t get to do that with him. You don’t get to act like this was nothing. Not with Max, that’s not how it works. He called me sobbing, Mom, terrified, and you just want me to act like that was nothing?”

“But it was –” Maryse starts but Alec quickly cuts her off.

“I don’t care what you thought it was, Mom. When will you understand that this isn’t about your perception of the situation,” Alec says, sighing heavily. “Your opinion doesn’t matter on this subject. All I care about is what Max thinks, he’s the one you hurt. Right now he’s hurt and he’s scared and he wants to go home, where he belongs. Because that is his home, it’s where he lives, and I don’t care what you think about that. This is about what Max needs, not your ego.”

And with that, without saying another word to Maryse, Alec turns on his heel and lets the door slam shut behind him.

* * *

"We need to go to the emergency room," Magnus says, the second Alec gets in the car. "Max landed hard on his arm when Maryse hit him and it's really hurting him; look at it."

Alec shifts his attention to Max, who's sitting in the back seat of their car. He looks scared, his eyes are a little puffy from crying so much, and there's still a bright red mark on his face from where Maryse had slapped him. He looks down at Max's wrist and notices how swollen it is.

"Okay," Alec says, trying his damnedest to keep his cool when all he wants to do is scream right now. "We gotta take you to the doctor so they can look at your wrist."

"I'm sorry," Max says, sniffing softly as he look down at the ground. "Don't be mad at me."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Max," Magnus says, pulling out of the drive way. "This isn't on you; you didn't do anything wrong."

"Promise?" he asks and Magnus and Alec share a look that says everything. 

"I swear," Alec reassures, staring out the window as buildings flash past him. If Max's arm is broken, or even sprained, Maryse is going to have hell to pay. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have two ideas for this and I haven't completely decided which one I want to go with yet. Either way, it may change the tags and possibly the summary slightly but I promise it's not going to be too drastic. 
> 
> The first idea is longer, a lot more angsty/heartfelt, and involves Rafael. I've never really gone that direction in any fic before so updates may take longer and I'm not sure exactly how it's going to play out. Not gonna lie, it'll probably make you cry (but it has a happy ending and no one dies).
> 
> The second idea is shorter, a lot less angsty, and doesn't involve Rafael (though he will be incorporated later on in other sequels I have planned). It's kind of safe and I'm not that big of a fan but I think some people may like this one better because it's more common. 
> 
> Do you guys have any preferences? I'll definitely take them into consideration. 
> 
> Come find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/starkidjoshler)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I debated with myself on whether or not I should update the tags now or wait a few chapters to avoid spoilers for people who don't like them. In the end, the fact that I can't write anything potentially triggering without tagging everything first won and the tags have been updated. I may add to them in the future but as of right now they are updated for what I have planned. 
> 
> This chapter is much shorter than what I usually write but I wanted to post something short and quick to show everyone what I decided to do. Almost everyone wanted the angstier, longer, route and that's what I'm going with. If that's not what you wanted I'm sorry. The story still won't have really heavy angst but it'll definitely be there.

“This isn’t a good idea,” Alex says, worrying his lip between his teeth. “We should report what happened, Max.”

“I don’t want her to get in any trouble,” Max says, kicking his legs against the side of the examination table. “It was an accident; she didn’t mean to do it.”

“She caused a hairline fracture in your wrist, Max,” Alec says, running a hand through his hair. “She lost control and she hurt you, I don’t care if it was an accident or not. That’s not okay.”

“I know, but I don’t want her to get mad at me and I don’t want her to get in trouble,” Max says again, pleading. He picks at the white gauze that lines the bright blue cast, Max’s favorite color, and Alec once again can’t shake the feeling that they’re making a horrible mistake.

Alec, Max, and Magnus were all sitting in an examination room at the Emergency Room together. The doctor, a girl that Alec was friends with in high school, had just finished putting a cast on Max’s arm and now the three of them were waiting to be discharged.

Alec wanted to report Maryse for child abuse, he knew that was right the thing to do, but Max had begged Alec not to do it. He was afraid of losing his mom and Alec, despite his problems with his mother, didn’t want to completely destroy their relationship. At the same time, what happened was not okay. Maryse definitely needed to work her shit out, get her priorities in line, and decide how important her son really was to her.

She couldn’t put her hands on Max, no matter how angry she gets. That won’t ever fly with Alec and he’s not going to let something like that go, not when it concerns Max.

“Max…” Alec starts, trailing off when he realized he couldn’t find the right words to say. He didn’t want to crush his brother any more than he already had been but he couldn’t just forgive Maryse for what she did.

“Darling, we’re not going to give her the opportunity to hurt Max again,” Magnus says softly. He hadn’t exactly voiced his opinion on either side of the argument but he had offered positive and negative comments to both sides and Alec really appreciated him because of it.

Alec sighs heavily and takes a deep breath. “I don’t want Mommy to hate me,” Max says, so softly he can barely hear it, and Alec wants to cry.

“She’s not going to hate you,” Alec says, kneeling down in front of Max. “She won’t. You haven’t done anything wrong, I need you to remember and understand that. You’ve done nothing wrong.”

“Promise?” Max asks, and the uncertainty in his voice makes Alec want to cry and strangle his mother at the same time.

She had somehow made Max feel as if he needed to be forgiven, like this whole situation was his fault, and it’s going to take a lot for him to forgive her for what she's done this time. This wasn't Alec she was hurting, it wasn't even Jace or Izzy. This was Max and it was Alec's responsibility to protect him. 

“I swear to you,” Alec says, placing a hand on Max’s shoulder. He’d do anything for his brother, anything at all, and if he had to placate Maryse to help protect him he would. “We’ll handle it the way we planned on the car ride here, okay? Everything is going to be okay, I swear to you.”

Maryse won’t be a fan of what he and Magnus had come up with, she’d be infuriated. But Alec didn’t care. The most important thing is that Max is taken care of, Alec won’t let his mother mess up his little brother. Not Max, never Max.

* * *

“The patient in room 203 is ready to be discharged now,” Dr. Angelica Kempner says, stopping by the nurse’s station on her way to her next patient. “Make sure they make a follow up appointment in about a month before they leave.”

“That the boy with the hairline fracture in his wrist?” a nurse speaks up, leaning against the counter right next to him.

“Yeah, it should heal nicely with no surgery. It’s in a relatively easy place to treat and shouldn’t affect his growth plate,” Angelica informs, already starting to go over her chart for her next patient.

“I take it you didn’t report it?” she says, sounding somewhat offended. “I told you there was something off about the story.”

“Rebecca,” Angelica says, sighing softly. “You say that about everyone that comes in, which is exactly why you have to report your findings to someone else before you’re allowed to file reports anymore. The boy was well taken care of, I didn’t notice any signs of abuse, and he’s Alec Lightwood’s brother. I went to school with Alec, he doesn’t love anything more than he loves his family and he would never hurt Max. That I know for a fact. Not everyone who comes in with a broken wrist is being abused. Alec will take care of his brother, I know he will.”

Without another room Angelica takes off down the hallway and heads towards her next patient. Her back is turned when the nurse’s face changes into a look her co-worker wouldn't recognize, a look of pure, concerned, rage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that happened. I know it's really short but I promise my other chapters will be at least two thousand words. 
> 
> If you have any questions or comments you can reply here. You can come find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/starkidjoshler) like usual. I've also decided to update my tumblr and actually try to use it so you can also find me on [tumblr](http://psychicdreamsandangelwings.tumblr.com/)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not really sure how I feel about this chapter, I definitely feel as if it could have gone much better, but it's finished. I know there's been some questions and concerns about certain aspects of what's about to happen so hopefully this chapter clears up some of everyone's worries.
> 
> Warnings for this chapter: some mentions of child abuse and a brief mention of past domestic abuse (including sexual, physical, emotional, etc.)

The day after Max had been taken to the Emergency Room, Alec sends his mother a text telling her they need to talk. It doesn’t take her very long to respond and they set a time to meet up at Maryse’s house. He leaves Magnus at home with Max, not bothering to tell his mother he’s the only one coming over today. She’ll figure it out soon enough.

Max may not outright say it but he’s scared and Alec doesn’t want him there when he tells Maryse what he and Magnus have decided to do. Considering the fact that she broke Max’s wrist, her opinion doesn’t mean anything to Alec right now.

Alec knocks on the door and takes a step back, preparing himself for what’s no doubt going to be an explosive conversation with his mother. “Max isn’t here?” Maryse says, glancing behind Alec’s shoulder, the second that she opens the door.

“No,” Alec says, picking nervously at his nails. “He’s with Magnus.”

“Hmm,” she says, turning around to head back inside without another word. Alec follows her into the sitting room and the two of them sit in awkward silence before Alec finally gathers up enough courage to start the conversation.

“You broke his wrist, Mother,” Alec starts, crossing his arms across his chest. “Your temper and apparent inability to control yourself caused a hairline fracture in his wrist.”

“What?” Maryse says incredulously, shaking her head. “There’s no way I broke his wrist, I barely even touched him!”

“You knocked him down,” Alec says, trying his damnedest to keep himself from exploding. “You fucking slapped him and he fell and broke his wrist.”

“I thought you said it was a hairline fracture, it’s not as bad as –” Maryse starts, as if that somehow makes it better, and Alec all but loses it.

“That doesn’t fucking matter,” Alec says clenching his fists together tightly. “Are you joking? You hurt him, badly, and it’s not okay. You broke his wrist, he’s gonna have a cast for at least a month. Nothing you can say is going to make this any better.”

“I already apologized for what happened,” Maryse says, sounding remorseful. “You know I would never intentionally hurt Max; I have never hit any of you before. It was a one-time accident; it’s not going to happen again.”

“How am I supposed to know that?” Alec asks, suppressing the urge to start glaring. “Seriously though, how am I supposed to know this isn’t going to happen again? How can I possibly trust you to be alone with Max after what you did to him?”

“He’s my son,” Maryse scoffs, offended Alec would even say such a thing. “Of course he’s safe with me. I just… I lost my temper and it’s not going to happen again.”

“And if that situation happens again,” Alec asks, “what are you going to do? If Max gets scared again and he starts having a panic attack and needs Magnus or I to calm him down, how are you going to react? Are you going to show the same blind rage as you did before? Are you going to strike out at him again?”

“Panic attack?” Maryse says, blinking a few times in confusion, and Alec suddenly realizes Maryse doesn’t even know why Max wanted so desperately to go home yesterday. “What do you mean?”

“Max was scared and on the verge of having a panic attack,” Alec continues, trying to explain the situation to his mother who apparently wasn’t aware of exactly how badly she had messed up yesterday. “He was terrified and trying to calm himself down but you only made it worse, that’s why he wanted us and not you. Because we know how to calm him down when it gets bad. You reacted badly, you made the situation worse, and then you slapped him because of it.”

“I didn’t even do anything to him,” Maryse says, still confused about the situation, and Alec is beginning to realize just how little Maryse even knows about her youngest son. “How could I have triggered a panic attack?”

“You brought him to an event you planned to meet Shawn at, what did you expect him to do? Be okay with it? No one in our family is okay with being around Shawn,” Alec says, “and you can’t expect a nine-year old to want to sit with the man who made my life a living hell. When he told you he was scared you made him feel pathetic and small, like his opinion didn’t matter. Of course he started to panic, the fact that you continued to yell at him made it so much worse.”

“Max probably doesn’t even remember who Shawn is,” Maryse says, rolling her eyes with a soft little tsk, “how could he possibly have bad memories of him.”

“You don’t remember?” Alec says, face trained on the rug in front of him. His eyes trace over the patterns displayed there, unable to look up and meet his mother’s gaze. “That doesn’t surprise me, you never paid attention before so why would you start after everyone found out about the abuse?”

Alec stops, swallows hard, and tries to keep himself under control. He now regrets not having Magnus here with him because it seems like he’s going to dig back into the memories he’s tried so hard to repress. Having his fiancé here, the man who made his life infinitely better, would help immensely. But he isn’t here and Alec has to do this himself; he hates how weak that makes him feel.

“After everyone found out,” Alec says, fingernails scratching absentmindedly at the worn denim of his jeans, “I was not in a good place. I could barely make myself eat and shower and sometimes I couldn’t force myself to get out of bed. I thought about it constantly, every fucking day, and I couldn’t stop. I still tried to take care of everyone, Izzy and Jace needed me and I couldn’t just give up on them because I was depressed, but I felt so pathetic and worthless it was hard to make myself do anything.”

Alec doesn’t know why he’s opening up about this, especially to his mother of all people who is the least likely person to truly care, but once he starts the story he can’t stop himself from finishing it.

“Max was still his bubbly self and I remember one day while he was here in New York with you and Dad he tried to get me to play with him. It was one of my worst days so I definitely didn’t want to do anything but this was Max, he was a baby and he didn’t know any better. All he wanted was his big brother to take him to the park and how was I supposed to explain to a four-year old I was too depressed to even get out of bed that day?”

Alec takes a deep breath and clenches his fists tightly. “So I told him I wasn’t feeling good, that I was feeling a little sad, and wouldn’t be able to take him to the park. I felt like an ass but he just nodded and retreated from my bedroom. He came back fifteen minutes later with a glass of juice, some animal crackers, his favorite stuffed animal, and three different animated movies.”

Alec can’t help but smile as he thanks back on one of his all-time favorite memories of Max, even if it’s directly related to the worst time in his life. “Izzy helped him carry it all because he was too little to carry everything before she left us alone. He told me that Izzy had told him there was a mean man who had made me sad and he decided that he needed to try and cheer me up. He brought me all his favorite things – his favorite juice, snack, movies, and stuffed animal – and told me they were what made him smile when he was sad. All he wanted to do was make me smile and that was the only way he knew how.

“We stayed in my room for hours and watched movies together,” Alec says, coughing a few times to clear his throat, “and it was the first time since before I had started dating Shawn that I actually felt good about myself. Max may not know what Shawn did to me, I would rather die than have Max find out the details of what happened, but he knows he hurt me and he didn’t want anything to do with him. You overreacted, you caused Max to hyperventilate and start to panic, and you hurt him.”

Maryse is quiet for a long time and Alec sits there, waiting for her to say something. Maryse had forbidden him to talk about Shawn after everyone found out and he had never told anyone, not even Magnus, how messed up he was after the relationship had ended. He hadn’t told anyone, despite how badly Izzy and Jace wanted him to talk to someone, about how he felt when everyone found out. His mother hated him, his father couldn’t look at him, his little brother didn’t understand why he was so sad all the time and Izzy and Jace didn’t know what to do.

The longer they sit there in silence the more nervous Alec gets. He can feel a deep set feeling of dread pooling in the pit of his stomach and Alec has to fight the urge to get up and leave. He doesn’t know how she’s going to react and he’s terrified of what she’s going to say to him.

 “It was five years ago, Alec,” Maryse says, voice softer than Alec has ever heard it before. She doesn’t look angry or sad or annoyed, she just looks blank. Alec doesn’t know what to make of her reaction. “It’s time we leave that in the past and move on.”

“I can’t leave it in the past,” Alec says, stomach queasy at the very thought of Shawn and what he had done to him. “I can’t forget that, nothing I do will ever make me forget that. It is ingrained in my head, in my memories, in my thoughts. Shawn will never disappear, no matter how hard I try to will away his memory. He’s always going to be there. He nearly ruined me, I wasn’t okay for a long fucking time because of him, and I still get days where I don’t want to get out of bed because of everything going on in my head.

“Magnus is good for me, Mother,” Alec says, trying his damnedest to keep back his tears, “he is good _to_ me. He’s helped me more than I could ever even begin to explain and I’ve come so far from how I used to be. But it doesn’t just go away, I can’t just forget it. I’m better now, I’m in a good place and I have a good fiancé and I’m actually happy for the first time in my life but that doesn’t mean my memory will let me forget it. I don’t get that luxury.”

“What do you want me to do, Alec?” Maryse says, anger starting to creep into her voice. Whatever was holding her back before is gone and now she just seems angry. “It’s been five years, there’s nothing I can do to fix what happened to you. I’m sorry that Shawn treated you badly and that you aren’t able to get over it but am I supposed to let that affect my life? There’s nothing I can do to make it better. It’s in the past, forget about it.”

“You can cut ties with him,” Alec says, starting to get angry himself. “You can stop associating with the man that hurt me. You can, for once in your life, try and have a genuine conversation with me about what happened. You can accept blame for what you and Dad did to me. You can own up to your mistakes for once in your life. You can keep my baby brother away from my _abusive rapist_.”

That shuts Maryse up real fast. She opens her mouth, as if she’s about to say something, before she quickly closes it again and remains silent. Alec can hear his heart beating hard against his chest, feel the blood rushing through his ears as he tries to keep himself under control. The rage he had experienced only a few moments ago is gone, replaced by an overwhelming sadness and sense of fear that buries him in old feelings of worthlessness.

He hates the fact that just the thought of Shawn can still cause this reaction in him, that his mother still can’t own up to everything she’s done, that he’d revealed a part of himself to someone who doesn’t truly care. Every instinct in him is telling him to run, to leave, but he still has unfinished business here. He can’t leave until he talks about Max.

“It doesn’t matter, mother,” Alec says once he’s calm enough to start up the conversation again. “I don’t even know why I told you, it just kind of popped out. I found out long ago that you don’t really care about me or my issues so there’s no point in talking to you about them. I didn’t come here to talk about me or Shawn or delve into the past, I came here to talk about Max. The point is, you messed up royally and you’re trying to blame everyone but yourself for how things played out.”

“It was an accident,” Maryse says, shifting uncomfortably on the sofa across from Alec. “I didn’t mean for it to happen, I’ve never laid a single hand on any of you kids and you know I would never intentionally hurt Max.”

“You still lost control,” Alec says, “and you broke his arm. You didn’t just slap him; you broke his arm. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be alone with Max. At all. From now on he’s going to stay with Magnus and I, even if you or Dad are in town.”

“Okay,” Maryse scoffs, “like you have any authority to keep my son away from.”

“I have all the authority, actually,” Alec says. “I’m his legal guardian, I am legally capable of making all his decisions for him. You still have your parental rights but I’m responsible for him.”

“You’re joking right?” Maryse says, disbelief creeping up on her face. “You’re not taking my kid away from.”

“I’m not taking Max away from you, mainly because that’s not what Max wants. Your son loves you, he doesn’t want to stop seeing you. But he’s scared and he doesn’t want to be alone with you right now. He thinks you’re going to hate him and he’s afraid that you’re going to hurt him again.”

“You expect me to just sit here and just take this without fighting for it?” Maryse says, crossing her legs. “I can fight this, you know I can. I’m not going to let you dictate when and where I can see my son. That’s not how this arrangement works, Alec.”

“By all means, mother,” Alec says, shifting forward slightly in the chair he’s sitting on, “take me to court. You’re underestimating Magnus’ influence and his money. It’s not going to be an easy trial, it’s going to be long and drawn out and everyone is going to be talking about it. There’s going to be reporters everywhere, asking questions and fabricating stories, especially after the child abuse claims come in to play. Everyone will know about it and the Lightwood name is going to get dragged through the mud.”

“Since when have you ever cared about the Lightwood name?” Maryse asks. “You’ve never cared about what people think about us before, why has that changed all of the sudden?”

“I don’t give a rat’s ass about our reputation or what people think about our name,” Alec says. He sets his hands on his knees in an attempt to help keep himself calm. “But I care about Max, a lot. He’s the only thing that matters right now and he’s the only reason I really care about not getting everyone involved. I don’t want him dragged through a trial, I don’t want news outlets bringing him into anything, I don’t want people at school talking about what his mother did to him. I’m trying to protect him from the media backlash that’s bound to happen because nothing in this city stays confidential when it comes to well-to-do families.”

That was the main reason. The last thing Alec wanted was for Max to become a pawn to be fought over. Maryse doesn’t do quiet, there’s no way she’d do anything low-key, and Alec would be forced to fight for his brother. But that wasn’t the only reason. Alec knows how the system works and how hard it can be to get custody away from abusive parents, especially if they have money. Jace’s father had broken his arm twice, his leg, and dislocated his shoulder without having anything done to him. It took Jace being placed in the hospital for two weeks before his father was finally taken to prison and Jace was placed in foster care.

And Jace’s father was a habitual child abuser, he always had people throwing accusations at him. Maryse may have broken Max’s arm but she’s never physically harmed him, not once, before. Yes, she’s an absent mother and Alec does everything for Max. But there isn’t much evidence to prove she isn’t fully capable of taking care of Max. Not to mention the fact that the courts almost always rule in favor of the mother, no matter what the reasoning is.

Alec is afraid if he takes this to court he’ll lose and Maryse will get full custody of Max. If that happens, she’ll never let Alec see him. Alec doesn’t want to fail his brother, he can’t.

“Are you threatening me?” Maryse snarls.

“Of course I’m not threatening you,” Alec sighs and takes a deep breath. “I’m just telling you how it will go. You know this is going to get messy, you know it won’t stay quiet, and you know there is a very good possibility that you will lose. I know you care a lot about your reputation, you really want to go that route?”

Maryse doesn’t say anything and Alec takes that as confirmation enough. “This is the best solution for everyone. I can’t trust you not to hurt Max, Mom. I just can’t. Not only that but Max doesn’t want to be alone with you right now. He’s scared and he’s hurt and he doesn’t understand what’s going on. You need to get your anger under control, you need to sort out your priorities, and you seriously need to learn how to evaluate situations because all you seem to do is make them worse.

“You can’t explode and start yelling at Max and expect things to go smoothly, that will never work with him. You have to understand how he’s feeling, how bad his anxiety is, how close he is to panicking. You can’t scream at him, especially not when he’s crying, and you can’t just tell him to grow up. He’s working through his issues and he has come a long way but you can’t just will them away, that’s not how it works. He’s a child and his thoughts and feelings and fears matter. Until you understand all this, I can’t trust you around my brother.”

“Are you saying I don’t know how to handle my son?” Maryse says quietly, unable to meet Alec’s eyes.

Alec doesn’t say anything; he doesn’t need to. Maryse can play all the games she wants but they both know it’s true – she doesn’t know how to handle Max and that lies at the root of all their issues. He’s got to give her some credit though. Unlike Robert who barely ever comes to New York, she usually comes to the states at least once a month and she always sees Max even if it’s just for a short amount of time. There’s still a long way to go, she hardly ever spends real time with him and she still makes horrible decisions, but at least it’s a start.  

“You’re welcome to call and skype Max as much as you want, I’m not going to cut off contact,” Alec says, changing the subject. “I wouldn’t do that to Max. I’m just saying that until I can trust you not to hurt him and until Max feels safe alone with you again I’m not going to let Max around you by himself. You’re welcome to come over and hang out with him, you’re welcome to take him anywhere, you’re even welcome to have him stay the night. But if you have Max, Magnus or Izzy or Jake or I have to be with you. I won’t budge on that.”

“You can’t possibly expect me to actually abide by that, can you?” Maryse says.

“If you want to see Max, yes. I told you I don’t play around when it comes to Max’s safety,” Alec reiterates. “I don’t want to have to do this but I’m not budging. You have things you need to work through, things you need to learn, and you have to understand that you can’t play around with Max’s feelings. You broke his wrist, you can’t even admit to yourself that you are the one who broke his wrist, and you still make excuses for what happened. You haven’t learned anything and until you do Max will not be left alone with you.”

“This is absolutely ridiculous, what the hell are you trying to do here?” Maryse asks. Her voice is still as angry as it has been the entire conversation and Alec can tell she hates what he’s decided to do. Alec doesn’t care. Maryse may have never hurt Max before, but she’s gone and broken his arm now. Alec will never forgive himself if he acts like nothing happened and the next time she loses her temper with Max she hurts him even worse.’

“I don’t know how long you’re going to be in town for but I’d be happy enough to set up a time for you guys to meet, if that’s what Max wants,” Alec says, ignoring what Maryse had just said to him. “He goes to therapy once a month and his next session is sometime next week. He usually goes to them by himself but I can talk to Max and his therapist and ask if it’d be okay for you to sit in on it if that’s something you’d want to do. Max is very private about his therapy sessions though so I’m not sure how he’ll feel about it. Honestly, it all depends on what you’re willing to do see your son and what Max is comfortable with.”

“Max goes to therapy?” Maryse asks and Alec can’t believe what he’s hearing.

“Yes, your son goes to therapy,” Alec scoffs. “I’ve tried talking to you about this before, but you always shut me down. Max has night terrors, anxiety, and abandonment issues. The fact that you didn’t know anything about this proves my point, your relationship with your son is already on the verge of collapsing. You need to fix your problems, get your priorities in line, and work on your relationship with Max.”

“I’m sure that’s all my fault to, isn’t it?” Maryse asks, shaking her head. “Everything is always my fault.”

“It’s not all your fault,” Alec says honestly. “Dad is never in New York, Max hardly sees him at all, and I don’t think you realize how much that hurts him. I’m not going to say that you’re completely innocent because you’re not but there’s a lot of factors that contribute to his problems.”

Neither Alec nor Maryse talk for a few minutes. The silence is not entirely uncomfortable but Alec doesn’t like sitting there. He feels like he’s being scrutinized and he still wants to go home as soon as possible. “I’m not okay with this, Alec, I don’t like the fact that you think you can just sit there and tell me when I can and can’t see my kid. He isn’t your son, he’s mine, I will always come first in his eyes.”

Alec doesn’t say anything, he knows this isn’t going to go anywhere, so he stands up and claps his hands together. “I get where you’re coming from, but it doesn’t change anything. I don’t think we’re going to accomplish much else, this conversation is going nowhere, so I’m gonna go. If you want to see Max, you can call me and we can set something up. I’ll call Max’ therapist when I get home and talk to him and Max, see if it’s okay for you sit in next week.”

“This isn’t over Alec,” Maryse says as Alec starts to walk out the door. “I’m not going to sit here and let you take my son away from me.”

“Again,” Alec says, stopping in the doorway that leads out of the sitting room, “I’m not taking your kid away from you. I’m trying to fix your dwindling relationship with your son before it completely falls apart. Do what you have to do but you know as well as I do that this is the best decision for everyone. I can’t trust you with my brother, mom, I just can’t right now.”

And without another word Alec turns around, ignoring Maryse’s protests, and heads out the front door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/starkidjoshler)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, okay. So it's been a while since I've updated this and there's not really an excuse other than I'm still trying to shake my writing funk. I know this is slightly shorter than what I usually post but I wanted to get something out quick that shows I'm still around and very much interested in updating this story. Updates are still probably going to be inconsistent but my goal is to have at least one update every two weeks. We'll see how long that lasts.

"So," Magnus says nonchalantly as Alec walks through the door after his talk with his mom. "How'd it go?" 

Alec sighs, kicking off his shoes and taking of his jacket before he flops down on the couch beside Magnus. Magnus' arm instantly curls around Alec's shoulders and he can't help but lean into the comforting touch. Magnus had always been so good at reading him, he always knew exactly what Alec needed. And right now? Alec really needed Magnus.

Between everything that had happened last night with Max and what happened with his mother today, Alec is exhausted. Ever since the talk with his mother had drifted to Shawn, he hasn't been able to shake his fears and insecurities no matter how hard he tries and Shawn is the last thing Alec wants to be thinking about right now. Not when he's with Magnus and not when he has so many other things to worry about right now. He hates that the mere mention of Shawn can still provoke such a reaction out of him and he wishes he could just completely erase him from his memory.

"About as well as you would expect," Alec says finally, turning to press his face against Magnus' strong shoulder. With Magnus so close to him Alec is already starting to relax and he can feel the tension slowly ease out of him. Alec stays like that for a few seconds, allowing himself to bask in the comfortable feeling Magnus' presence has always been able to give him before he pulls his face away to look up at his fiancé. "Unsurprisingly, she's pissed and didn't like what I had to say one bit. She's still trying to justify what she did which just proves she's not really sorry and that she can't even take responsibility." 

"Do you think she'll try anything?" Magnus asks. 

"I don't know," Alec says after giving himself a minute or two to contemplate it. "She doesn't want the bad publicity something like this is going to bring and we already know she'll do anything to save her reputation. Honestly? It could go either way. She'll want to handle it as quietly as possible though, so there's a good chance nothing is going to happen." 

"Interesting," Magnus asks, fingers coming up to slowly card through Alec's hair. He can't help but relax at the gentle touch. "Who knows, maybe she'll surprise us and realize that this is the best thing to do for Max." 

"Is it though?" Alec says, hesitantly. "I can't help but think that maybe we're making a horrible mistake. My mother is a nightmare to deal with, this has every possibility of going wrong and if it does Max is going to get caught in the crossfires. I don't want to hurt him anymore than he already has been. I feel like this is my fault, that I somehow failed him as a brother." 

"None of this is your fault, darling," Magnus says softly. "You would never do anything to hurt Max; you've done everything with Max's best interest at heart and there's a lot of evidence to prove that. Even if this backfires in some way, things'll turn out okay in the end. They always do." 

"I know that," Alec says finally, "but that does nothing to stop this horrible feeling that's been pooling in the pit of my stomach ever since last night. I just... want what's best for Max, what's easiest for him, and I don't know if what we did is a good thing. This could really blow up in our faces." 

"I know, darling, I know," Magnus soothes, fingers never stilling from where they're carding through his hair. "Just remember, we have Max's best interests at heart. Everything you've done, everything we've decided, is because we want what's best for him. Max knows that, I know that and eventually Maryse will know that. There's nothing wrong with wanting to protect your brother and you're doing that the best way you can." 

Alec sighs heavily and closes his eyes, turning his face once more so it's buried against Magnus' shoulder. The familiar smell of sandalwood and the constant touch of Magnus' fingers does wonders to relax Alec. The longer he sits there the more relaxed he feels and Alec can feel his exhaustion creeping up on him in his relaxed state. He'd barely slept last night, worry for Max and thoughts of Shawn keeping him awake, and he wants nothing more than to fall asleep right here with the feeling of Magnus safely encompassing him. 

"Why don't you take a nap," Magnus suggests gently. "It's Wednesday so Izzy will pick up Max from school before she takes him to his art class with Clary." 

"I'm too comfy to move," Alec says, voice slightly muffled by Magnus' shoulder, and Magnus can't help but laugh at that.  

"You don't have to, I'm not going anywhere." 

"Don't you have meetings or work to do?" Alec asks, already half asleep.  

"I cancelled them for the rest of the day," Magnus says, tilting his head slightly to press a kiss against Alec's temple. "I told Ragnor I needed some time alone with my family, he understands. Figured you and Max would probably need me right now." 

Alec hums contently at that. Family is something Alec has wanted with Magnus almost from the moment he met him and he's happy to hear that Magnus sees him as such. The fact that it also extends to Max is just icing on the cake. "God, I love you. So much" 

"I know," Magnus says with an amused smirk. "I love you, Alexander. More than you will ever know. Sleep now, I can practically feel your exhaustion radiating off of you." 

Alec barely manages a content smile before he's out like a light. 

* * *

Alec wakes to the sound of the front door slamming and familiar footsteps thumping against the wooden floors. He groans and sits up, arching his back in a stretch as he rolls the crick out of his neck. He's not sure how long he's been asleep but Magnus is still sitting next to him, scrolling through emails on his tablet, so he figures it couldn't have been too long.  

Magnus turns once he feels Alec stir and gives him a soft smile, not immediately addressing the slammed door or the thumping footsteps. "Hello there, darling, did - " the rest of what Magnus has to say is drowned out by Izzy yelling his name, anger clearly depicted in her voice. Just as he had suspected, she's pissed.  

"Why the fuck didn't you tell me?" she says, pointing an accusatory finger at Alec as she comes to a stop in front of him and Magnus.  

"Hello, Iz," Alec says, trying for a calming smile. He can tell by the look on Izzy's face that it doesn't help any. At all. "Nice to see you too." 

"Nope, none of that," Izzy dismisses, still fuming. "Why didn't you tell me she broke his wrist?" 

Alec sighs and runs a hand through his hair, sitting up straighter. "I was going to tell you, obviously, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. It's been... hectic." 

"Yeah, no shit," Izzy says, starting to pace in front of them and Alec knows immediately that isn't a good sign. "Our mother broke Max's wrist, Alec. That's something I should have been told immediately." 

"I know," Alec says, "I'm sorry." And he is. Very sorry. He knows he should have let Jace and Izzy know as soon as it had happened but by the time he and Magnus had decided what to do it had been late and it had completely slipped his mind. "It's just not exactly something you say over the phone and I know you've been really busy lately." 

"I'm never too busy for you or Max, you know that," Izzy says, sighing heavily, as she sits on the coffee table in front of him. Alec notices immediately she's slightly less angry and he's grateful for that. "Start from the beginning, what exactly happened? Max wouldn't explain anything in detail to me." 

So, Alec does. He tells her about the party where Magnus had run into Maryse and Shawn. He tells her about last night, when Max had called them crying and terrified out of his mind. He tells her about the hospital trip and what the three of them – Max, Magnus, and him – had decided. He tells her about the meeting he had today with their mother, leaving out most of the details of their conversation about Shawn. By the time he's done, Izzy's anger had been muddled into a quiet sort of rage that Alec knows from experience is not a good sign. 

"And you decided not to call the cops on her because?" Izzy asks, hands clenched tightly in her lap.  

"That's not what Max wants," Alec says, "and I have to respect that. He's scared and he doesn't want Mom to be made at him, Izzy. He thinks she's going to hate him if we turn her in and, honestly, he might be right about that. You know how she gets sometimes, she could easily start blaming him and that's the last thing Max needs right now. She can't even accept responsibility for what she did without making up excuses!" 

"She deserves to be arrested, Alec," Izzy says. "I mean, she broke his arm! That's unforgivable." 

"I know," he says, swallowing the lump in his throat. "Believe me, I know. But I don't want to drag Max through a custody battle, Mom will be ruthless which will force us to be ruthless too and Max is going to get caught in the middle. He doesn't deserve that, Izzy. I need to protect him from that. Not to mention the very real possibility that she could end up winning and if that happens, she'll keep Max away from us. For good. I can't risk that happening." 

"She broke his wrist," Izzy says in slight disbelief. "Surely that's enough to keep her away from him and you have lots of evidence to prove you're a better fit to take care of him anyway. You already do everything for him; she only sees him once a month. The court would be crazy to give her custody over you." 

"Will they, though?" Alec asks. Magnus takes Alec's hand, pressing a quick kiss to the back of his knuckles, and Alec gives him a reassuring smile before he continues. "There's no guarantee that Magnus and I will win. She may have broken his wrist but that's also the only time she's ever hit him and she's his mother. Remember Jace's dad? He had to nearly kill him before Jace was finally taken away from him and he had _multiple_ claims of child abuse. What if they decide she just needs parenting and anger management classes? There's a very real possibility the court will side with her and I can't let that happen." 

"I don't like this, Alec," Izzy says. She starts pacing again and Alec follows her with uneasy eyes. "Jace isn't going to like it either; he's going to be _furious_."

"I know, believe me. I know." Jace was fiercely protective of his siblings, especially Max, and learning that Maryse had broken his wrist was going to bring back memories Jace had fought hard to get over. "I'll talk to him."

Izzy sighs and shakes her head, hands running through her hair in exasperation. "I hate this and I hate her for doing this to him. But, I understand. I do. I get where you're coming from. I just hope you know what you're doing." 

"So do I," Alec says quietly. "So do I." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [slight spoilers for what's to come] Just to quell anyone's fears, this plan isn't going to backfire directly on Magnus and Alec and they aren't going to be blamed for what happens. That being said, something is about to happen but my previous warning of a happy ending and nobody dying still stands.
> 
> Come find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/starkidjoshler)


End file.
